Thursday, March 8, 2012

Ft. Meyers bucket list

Feb. 27-March 7--North Ft. Meyers, Florida

With only about ten days left at this campground, the list of things we still wanted to do was growing instead of waning. Another visit to Sanibel Island rose to the
top. It turned out Mike, BJ, Diane, and Steve were also interested so we
took off around ten a.m. (hoping the bridge traffic was not yet bad) and
ventured off to Bowman’s Beach on the north end of Sanibel. The shell collecting was not as good as my
first time here, but I managed to add to my jingle and kitten paw collection
(pretty easy to do in Sanibel) and found a couple of good conch specimens. (Lest I sound jaded, I am still in awe of the 2-3 foot piles of shells that turn up on these shores.)

On the way "home" from Sanibel, we stopped at a park none of us had
ever seen before, Gulf Waters RV Resort—just
on the other side of the bridge to Sanibel. The park was very spacious and nicely laid
out with several amenities including a tiki bar by the pool.The one
down side I discovered was their brochure said they limited dogs to 40# and
under; don’t know how strict they are about dogs in the 40-50# range. This park
was also a mix of owners and renters with prices being a little high (daily
rate of $60-$65 during high season) because of its close proximity to the
beach. Good possibility for a short term stay close to the beach.

Throughout the month that we were here we enjoyed many meals
made by Mike and BJ and Steve and Diane, and one of the fun things for us
northwesterners was eating southern style.Diane introduced me to my first biscuit and gravy breakfast, white gravy
made with sausage over homemade biscuits, that was tastier than I expected. We went to a well-known restaurant in the area called Farmer's Kitchen and had a lunchtime feast of southern favorites including ham hocks, country fried steak, fried green tomatoes, okra, pickled beets, and dry lima beans. I even made a
southern meal of shrimp and grits (a new recipe for me discovered at Crook’s
Corner in Chapel Hill) which Mike requested an encore of before we left.I also wanted to have Lois and Mike come to
the campground and experience our new lifestyle (far from the Fred Astaire
studio). I happened to catch a Rick Bayless, Mexico: One Plate at a Time series
that inspired me to make flat iron steak tacos.Lois and Mike added a fun mix to the group with their local stories
(especially Mike’s about the parking lot scene he once experienced at the Farmer’s Market restaurant).
We managed to finish the evening around the campfire again, one of the
highlights of this campground, as most in the area do not allow open fires. Another fun eating experience was our celebration of Diane's 17th birthday (she was a leap year baby). We just had to take advantage of her rare birthday, so the six of us went to dinner in at The Captain's Table, located in the Fisherman's Village in Punta Gorda.

One of the other activities on my Ft. Myers bucket list was
to go to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Preserve—about 45 miles from our campground.
I saw a documentary on the preserve and read some blog entries that piqued my
interest.Vic was planning a day of
washing the motorhome but I talked Mike and BJ (what troopers) into joining
me—he even volunteered to drive.It is
about 20 miles east of Naples where there is not much to see, but supposedly it
as in internationally famous boardwalk where you are likely to see some rare
bird species and typical Florida wildlife such as alligators, snakes, and
turtles. The first mile or so of the walk was pretty in terms of looking at
flora and fauna, but we saw few birds or other creatures.A little more than a mile in we came upon a
swampy area that had provided quire the natural setting where we saw a
humongous alligator, several baby alligators sunning themselves, a turtle, a
couple of water moccasins, a few anhingas, sand cranes, snowy egrets, red
tailed hawks, a wood stork, and a kite bird. I loved the sanctuary feeling of the place where
everyone respected wildlife by whispering and seeming to be more in tune with
the balance of nature.I think that is
what made the place feel so special as you could certainly see most of these
species in common settings all around Florida.The only two things I didn’t see here and had hoped to were Roseate
Spoonbills and Painted Buntings.Gotta
keep some things left on the list. I was sad Vic did not join us as I wanted
him to have a real wildlife experience in South Florida, but he will have to
settle for our nightly campfires. (He’s not into snakes and alligators. . . . )

About Us

My husband and I created this blog as a record of our travel adventure in our 36' 2010 Tiffin Phaeton motorhome, fondly named "The Big EZ"--no connection to Louisiana. My brother-in-law Scot saw our motorhome and suggested this name which stuck. Our intention on this journey is to take life EZier which for us means letting go of busy schedules, appreciating the blessings of life, and living more simply. We purchased The Big EZ in Reno, Nevada in April of 2011 with the intent to sell our home and travel full time after my retirement from teaching in June. We sold our home in Corvallis, Oregon in August and started our grand tour on August 22. We are traveling with our two Portuguese Water Dogs (Jetta and Rico--mother and son) and we are pulling a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee. We plan to travel until our longing for a stick home is greater than our desire to call the road our home.
--Pam and Vic